Jesse Carlson says “you should see the other guy”

Depending on who you talk to in the blogosphere, Jorge Posada’s actions last night were deserving of the highest honours of douchebaggery, or he was simply standing up for himself. As a Blue Jays fan, I’m having a tough time defending the latter.

First of all, Jesse Carlson didn’t even hit Posada … not even close. Just like the most of this season, Carlson missed his location by a mile but I’m sure he was in fact aiming for Jorge.

For the sake of argument, let’s say that Carlson did hit Posada. The honourable thing to do is shutup and take your base. The umpires come out and warn the coaches and that should be the end of it. But Jorge Posada had to take it one step further and elbow Carlson on his way past home plate.

Carlson wasn’t trying to start anything at the plate, he was merely covering the base. Posada’s actions on that play alone deserved a punch in the face, let along his hissy fit in the batter’s box.

Actions speak louder than words, and on two occasions Jorge Posada told everyone loud and clear that he’s a giant douchebag. I’m fine with him chirping off Carlson because that’s expected. However, if you put your hands on a bull, expect to feel the wrath of the horns.

Among the scrum, John McDonald allegedly swung at and made contact with Yankees skipper Joe Girardi. Whether of not it’s actually true, I’ll continue to believe that Johnny Mac is a true gangsta.

I personally have never experienced a fight on the field but my little league coach once lipped off the other team’s coach in a fit of rage screaming “it’s just a game” and “it’s all about the kids”. Meanwhile, all of us were petrified that we were going to see a rematch of the Wrestlemania 3 main event on the baseball diamond.

Anyway, my point from that anecdote is that although there aren’t any clearcut rules for baseball brawls, I’m pretty sure that yanking at the straps of the catcher’s chest protector is a no-no. If you watch Rod Barajas, he’s under the impression that one of his teammates was pulling him out of the scrum, not Edwar Ramirez.

Although Jesse Carlson and Rod Barajas were the prime participants in the fight, honourable mention goes out to Cito Gaston and Scott Richmond. Cito got right in the face of Edwar Ramirez and for a brief moment I thought we might see throwdown similar to the Pedro Martinez/Don Zimmer incident. Richmond was right in the thick of things and despite being a typical polite and mild-mannered Canadian boy, he quickly transformed from Bruce Banner into the Incredible Hulk.

As a side note, Roy Halladay won, Adam Lind hit his 30th homerun of the year and Travis Snider knicked in two home runs. But I guess all those game notes were buried among the headlines from the rumble in the bronx.

Ian has been writing about the Toronto Blue Jays since 2007. He enjoyed the tail-end of the Roy Halladay era and vividly remembers the Alex Rodriguez “mine” incident. He’ll also retell the story of Game 5 of the ALDS to his kids for the next 20 years.

Mattt, Posada will definitely be enemy number one when the Yankees come to Toronto next year. Mark June 4th, 2010 on your calendar and get to the Rogers Centre to boo Posada like you've never booed before!